The new law on foreigners, which regulates the conditions for entry, exit, residence, movement and work of foreigners in Montenegro, has caused concern among foreign investors and the business community. Speaking on Boje jutra on TV Vijesti, Natalija Gerasimova, director of a company that registers foreign companies and advises investors, estimated that around 70 percent of her clients are considering leaving Montenegro.
"I had a client who closed a modern beauty salon, which had five employees, in two weeks. These are no longer small things, these are concrete businesses that are disappearing," she warned.
A particular problem, Gerasimova emphasizes, is the imprecision of the law.
"The law is not clear and does not provide the opportunity to plan for the future. The 5.000 euro tax requirement is interpreted differently from municipality to municipality. We do not know whether it is calculated from January, from the day the law came into force, or for the previous year. The law cannot have retroactive effect, but in practice it is applied that way," she said.
Michael Bader, president of the Tourism Committee at the German-Montenegrin Business Club, paints a similar picture. Although EU citizens are exempt from some of the controversial provisions, he warns that some solutions are equally problematic.
"The biggest problem for Germans is the limitation of leave to only 30 days per year. This is absolutely unfeasible for people who run businesses, who travel, but also for retirees who have come here to live peacefully," he pointed out.
Bader states that many foreign citizens have already contacted him with the intention of leaving Montenegro. Bader also warns of the negative effect that the first information about the mandatory employment of at least three Montenegrin citizens had.
"Although this provision was later changed, the damage was already done. The information spread on social media and many immediately closed their businesses and returned to Germany," he said.
Both interlocutors emphasize that the state needs to establish order and prevent abuses, but that a clear distinction must be made between fictitious companies and people who have been living and doing business in Montenegro for decades.
"You can't treat someone who has been paying taxes for 20 years the same as someone who only exists on paper," says Bader, suggesting that the criteria be tied to real income and gradual business development.
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